Individual Award Winners
The Award of Merit
Introduced at Acacia's Golden Anniversary celebrations in 1954, the Award of Merit is one of Acacia's highest honors. It is given to "brothers who have given of their time and substance unstintingly for the promotion and furtherance of Acacia, both nationally and locally, and brothers who have rendered outstanding service in their chosen fields, and have attained high position therein, thus exemplifying the motto of Acacia, human service, and the teachings of the fraternity, which constantly admonish our members to prepare themselves as educated men to take a more active part in their communities."
Unknown Year
John O. Bronson, Mississippi State
Vonus L. Ellis, Miami of Ohio
Steven A. Gamble, Georgia
Philip W. Cramer, Ohio State
1954
Roscoe Pound, Nebraska
Lloyd V. Berkner, Minnesota
Pembroke H. Brown, Illinois
Herschel L. Washington, Kansas
Harry A. Finney, Northwestern
Ned H. Dearborn, Columbia
Robert C. Lewis, Colorado
Walter W. Kolbe, Northwestern
Roy C. Clark, Northwestern
David A. Embury, Columbia
Willard A. Knapp, Purdue
Robert C. Bradley, Cornell
George E. Nitzsche, Franklin
Lloyd H. Ruppenthal, Kansas
1958
Dr. Nathan D. Harwood, Kansas State
Vernon D. Foltz, Kansas State
1962
William E. Krieger, Illinois
Charles A. Sink, Michigan
Ernest R. Ringo, Michigan
Harvey R. Amos, Southern California
William S. Dye, Penn State
John A. Lunsford, Colorado
Edward B. Meriwether, Chicago
Thomas E. Warring, Indiana
Lester G. Ruch, Indiana
Frank H. Reinsch, UCLA
Walter R. Kolbe, Iowa State
Paul A. Gilman, New Hampshire
George E. Condra, Nebraska
Francis H. Case, Northwestern
Oliver N. Bruck, Texas
Keller E. Beeson, Purdue
Thomas M. Herman, Michigan
Theodore H. Tapping, Michigan
Norman C. Saatjian, Long Beach
Marion H. Huber, Cincinnati
Frank M. Holloway, Texas
Marvin W. Logan, Iowa
Delmer M. Goode, Minnesota
George Elmer Ekblaw, Illinois
C. Lenton Sartain Jr., Louisiana State
Raymond E. Bivert, Oklahoma State
George F. Patterson, Cincinnati
Edwin J. Taylor, Ohio
Lafayette W. (Pete) Knapp Jr., Cornell
1964
Luther A. Smith, Southern Mississippi
Harvey A. Miller, Michigan
Wallace N. Jamie, Southern California
William B. Dexter, Washington
Ray C. Thomas, Indiana
Nugent E. Fitzgerald, Missouri
James E. Webb, North Carolina
Judge Homer Thornberry, Texas
Herbert P. Wagner, Michigan
1966
Darrel S. Metcalfe, Iowa State
William R. Hockenberry, Franklin
Henry L. Stevens, New Hampshire
Christopher K. Gabriel, Oregon State
Harvey L. Logan, Long Beach
Jesse B. Beaird, Jr., Oklahoma
1968
Frank H. Mendell, Iowa State
George E. Frazer, Wisconsin
William L. Walker, Nebraska
Leonard E. Wood, Kansas State
Bertram D. Thomas, Washington
1969
Audrey A. Potter, Kansas State
1970
Roy F. Miller, Washington
G.K. Nelson, Penn State
Irving M. Field, Missouri
Henry L. Kibler, Indiana
Fred B. Morris, Cornell
James H. Ferguson, Indiana
1972
Edwin P. Kohler, Penn State
Ralph V. Hoffman, Illinois
Calvin O. Hultman, Iowa State
Thomas W. Ayton, Wisconsin
1974
Herbert R. Alcorn, Missouri School of Mines
Thomas E. Bolman, Miami of Ohio
Joseph F. Reed, Long Beach
Jacob P. Wegmuller, Iowa
Evert F. Lindquist, Iowa
1976
Lester N. Liebel, Washington State
Richard T. Albagli, Rensselaer
John W. Black, Penn State
David B. Williams, Illinois Wesleyan
Oliver T. Joy, Nebraska
1978
Fred W. McPeake, Tennessee
H. Keith Sawyers, Iowa State
David J. Allen, Indiana
George C. Crooks, Vermont
Clarence R. Jacoby, Shippensburg
Paul P. Ashley, Washington
David J. Williams, Washington
1980
W. Thomas Nelson, Jr., Purdue
John F. Hoffner, Purdue
Dan A. Hildebrand, Nebraska
Lawrence L. Wisdom, Kansas State
James T. Hall, Vermont
W.M. Wingren, California
Dallas M. Gandy, Central State Oklahoma
1981
John Robert Stevenson, St. Cloud State
Jon S. Fuerstneau, Minnesota
Larry B. Forsland, Minnesota
1982
Donald W. Solanas, Jr., Louisiana State
Daniel V. Albano, Illinois
Markham C. Wakefield, Indiana
Arthur D Lautzenheiser, Indiana
C. Thomas Lechner, Penn State
Harold E. Edgerton, Nebraska
1984
Marvin E. Rothhaar, Ohio State
W.G. Pinnell, Indiana
1986
Scott M. Valley, Washington State
Jed W. Morris, Washington State
Otto W.Schrader, California
Wayne H. Holtzman, Northwestern
Ray S. Erlandson, Wisconsin
C.F.K. Cole, Texas
Captain Duncan McPherson, California
1987
Fredrick C. Garrott, Illinois
Clive Follmer, Illinois
1988
Stanley C. Acree, Oklahoma State
Clifton K. Hillegass, Nebraska
1990
Richard L. Heino, Wyoming
John J. Zentgraf, Shippensburg
James E. Bieber, New Hampshire
Orval M. Conner, Nebraska
L. Craig Fulmer, Indiana
Darold W. Larson, Washington State
1991
James C. Showacre, Cornell
1992
Robert Keith Hampe, Washington State
Ronald T. Hopkins, Syracuse
John H. Nourse, Ohio State
Robert L. Marshall, Miami of Ohio
William A. Utic, Cornell
1993
John R. Moser, Miami, Miami of Ohio
1994
Robert E. Jepson, Kansas State
Mark R. Guidry, Louisiana State
James O. Richardson, Indiana
Ronald E. Carter, Indiana
David A. Luecke, Miami of Ohio
Nolan G. Crawford, Miami of Ohio
Daniel F. Bassill, Illinois Wesleyan
1995
Jay H. Geshay, Purdue
Max F. Spaulding, Indiana
Richard E. Ford, Indiana
Larry J. Kelly, Indiana
1996
Dr. L. Dennis Smith, Indiana
Brian C. Montgomery, Miami of Ohio
Scott J. Houston, Indiana
George C. Woolsey, California
1997
William J. Gammie, Washington State
Joseph A. Lowe, California
1998
Christ Drossos Jr., Indiana
Michael P. Fillman, Western Ontario
Gerald C. Cook, Shippensburg
John B. Lane, Vermont
Paul M. Vos, Purdue
1999
Keith M. Bushey, Indiana
J. Scott Cleland, Ohio
2000
George A. Levesque, Carleton
James L. Ernette, Franklin
John W. Wedgwood, Purdue
Hal D. Hanes, Indiana
Roger A. Nealis, Indiana
Phillip M. Zook, Indiana
Larry E. Schroeder, Georgia
Douglas F. Trumbower, Penn State
2002
Dean R. Blanken, Colorado
William J. Mollere, Louisiana State
Dean A. Huprich, Ohio
J. Dennis Bassett, Kansas State
R. Daniel Wilkes, Iowa
2003
William M. Riley, Kansas State
Harry A. Spencer, Nebraska
William C. Hasting, Nebraska
2004
R. Earl Snapp, Cincinnati
John Beering, Purdue
Dewayne Ullsperger, Nebraska
Jeffrey Jordan, Ohio State
Christopher Carpentier, Indiana
Craig Johnson, Louisiana State
Steven L. Stein, Cornell
2005
David Loren Day, Ohio
Kevin R. Cheesebrough, Penn State
Joseph John Lundy, Penn State
Edward S. Knight, Texas
Robert E. Roberson, Illinois Wesleyan
Leonard W. Kearney, Oregon State
Thomas J. DeRue Jr., Indiana
2006
Samuel B. Unger, Kansas State
Daniel D. Bayston, Illinois
Maximilian J.B. Hopkins, California
John B. Pugh, Iowa State
Frank Douglas Staley Jr., Indiana
Harold D. Zarr, Iowa State
2007
James L. McFarland, Wisconsin
Michael A. Blood, Illinois Wesleyan
Phillip T. Wilson, Illinois Wesleyan
Melvin W. Rapp, Illinois
2008
Brian S. Downs, Central Oklahoma
Thomas J. Balcerski, Cornell
Arthur E. Mertes, Illinois
David S. Baum, Indiana
James N. Reichard, Louisiana State
Corey S. Oakley, Ohio
Martin T. McKnight, Oregon State
Barry F. Baxter, Texas
John H. Peper, Texas
2009
Stewart L. Burger, Cornell
2010
Matheau P. Luers, Indiana
John C. Barber, M.D., Purdue
Gary J. Haag, Kansas State
Gregory J. Owen, Carleton
Zilmon Smith, Texas
2011
Robert L. Carstens, Iowa State
Carl J. Denbow, Ohio
George B. Jackson, Penn State
Patrick W. McGovern, Indiana
2012
Edward A. Cunnington, Minnesota
Jeremy N. Davis, Iowa State
Michael A. Duncan, Illinois
Dr. David R. Fischell, Cornell
Larry B. Forsland, Minnesota
Bern B. Hughes, Michigan
Scott H. Meyer, St. Cloud State
Robert W. Mickam, Texas
Kenneth M. Renslow, St. Cloud State
Lucas D. Shivers, Kansas State
2013
Brian R. Durst, Wisconsin
Richard S. Rasmussen, California
2014
Bradon S. Nelson, Kansas State
Brian C. Nelson, Kansas State
Michael A. Pastko, Purdue
Art Stein, Purdue
Anthony D.J. Phillips, Carleton
Donald W. Sabo, Washington
Stephen J. Scalise, Louisiana State
Byron A. Tabor, Iowa
Andrew Stout, Cal Poly
2015
Robert Travnicek, M.D., Kansas
James Katsaounis, Ohio
2016
Jeffrey Lindauer, Indiana
Lamar Tims, Texas
Scott Graham, Penn State
Martin Liphardt, Nebraska
Amos Meyers Jr., Shippensburg
Ron Mitchell, Colorado
Dallas Nelson, Kansas State
Aaron Morrow, Iowa
2017
James Davis, Iowa State
Luke Lamprecht, St. Cloud State
Brian Strayer, Ohio State
2018
Steve Aves, Illinois Wesleyan
Shawn Morgan, Iowa
Stephen Lappin, Texas
Herb Andrews, Penn State
Steve Etter, California of Pennsylvania
Dave Cremer, Ohio State
Kenneth Schwab, Purdue
Michael S. Weber, Iowa State
William M. Thornton, Ohio State
2019
Andrew Jee, Oregon State
Kevin T. May, Wisconsin
David L. Ferguson, Indiana
2020
Michael C. Tu, California
Dominick F. Impastato III, Louisiana State
Kris R. Lutt, Nebraska
Jeffrey T. Boaz, Illinois Wesleyan
Ron Gebhardtsbauer, Penn State
Michael J. Oakes, Indiana
2021
Richard I. Williams, Grand Valley State
Michael L. Rollins, Washington
David R. Quick, Rensselaer
Randolph K. Shoup, Indiana
Aaron P. Darcy, Indiana
Alan B. Scher, Wisconsin
2022
Steven B. Cutshall, Purdue
Guy G. Gebhardt, Illinois Wesleyan
Robert M. Terrell, Illinois State
Richard A. Cone, Iowa State
Neil H. Woodley, Iowa State
Blake J. Hutchison, Wisconsin
Jacob A. Sundquist, St. Cloud State
Dwyte E. Brooks Sr., Northwestern
Alan K. Leahigh, Illinois Wesleyan
Eric S. Muff, Nebraska
Terrance A. Ruona, Louisiana State
Donald W. Solanas Jr. Lifetime sErvice to Acacia Award
The Donald W. Solanas Jr. Award is Acacia’s most prestigious award. It was established in 2015 to recognize a lifetime of service to Acacia in the spirit of its namesake.
2015 Donald W. Solanas Jr., Louisiana State
2018 Jerry C. Cook, Shippensburg
2022 Bill Utic, Cornell
George F. Patterson Jr. Outstanding Alumnus Award
The George F. Patterson Award is Acacia's second-most prestigious individual award and is given annually in honor of Brother Patterson's many years of service to Acacia and the Interfraternity movement. It recognizes Acacia alumni whose contributions to the fraternity are both sustained and outstanding.
1980 George F. Patterson Jr., Cincinnati
1981 Delmer M. Goode, Minnesota
1982 Oliver N. Bruck, Texas
1984 Leonard E. Wood, Kansas State
1985 Lester N. Liebel, Washington State
1986 Roy M. Miller, Washington
1987 G.K. Nelson, Penn State
1988 Arthur D Lautzenheiser, Indiana
1989 Joseph F. Reed, Long Beach
1990 C. Lenton Sartain Jr., Louisiana State
1991 Irving M. Field, Missouri
1992 David J. Allen, Indiana
1993 H. Keith Sawyers, Iowa State
1994 L. Craig Fulmer, Indiana
1995 Duncan McPherson, California
1996 William A. Utic, Cornell
1997 Richard E. Ford, Indiana
1998 John F. Hoffner, Purdue
1999 Donald W. Solanas Jr., Louisiana State
2000 Jed W. Morris, Washington State
2000 James H. Ferguson, Indiana
2001 Mark R. Guidry, Louisiana State
2002 Darold W. Larson, Washington State
2003 Marvin Rothhaar, Ohio State
2004 Gerald C. Cook, Shippensburg
2005 Dewayne E. Ullsperger, Nebraska
2006 Robert E. Roberson, Illinois Wesleyan
2007 Kevin R. Cheesebrough, Penn State
2008 Leonard W. Kearney, Oregon State
2009 Larry E. Schroeder, Georgia
2010 Keith M. Bushey, Indiana
2011 Ronald T. Hopkins, Syracuse
2012 Melvin W. Rapp, Illinois
2013 Harold D. Zarr Jr., Iowa State
2014 William M. Riley Jr., Kansas State
2015 Stewart Burger, Cornell
2016 Jeffrey H. Jordan, Ohio State
2017 Robert G. Travnicek, Kansas/Northwestern
2018 Christ Drossos, Indiana
2019 Amos D. Meyers, Shippensburg
2020 James H. Davis, Iowa State
Roy C. Clark Outstanding Acacian Award
Brother Roy C. Clark — often referred to as "Mr. Acacia" — was a devoted Acacian who served the fraternity in a number of capacities, including that of National Executive Secretary from 1947-1966. The award dedicated to him in 1966 is presented annually to an undergraduate who most nearly exemplifies the outstanding attributes of Brother Clark — Perseverance, Integrity, Foresight, Loyalty, Devotion, Wisdom and Leadership.
1967 Richard F. Allen, Rensselaer
1968 William C. Wolford, Iowa State
1969 Robert D. Paine, Washington State
1970 Thomas J. Neis, Illinois Wesleyan
1971 Robert A. Schlomann, Purdue
1972 W. Sandy Cain, Illinois State
1973 Bruce E. Frazey, Kansas
1974 Charles F. Martin, Purdue
1975 Carrol E. Delacroix III, Louisiana State
1976 Gary F. Smith, Penn State
1977 Lawrence H. Hoskins, Louisiana State
1978 Barry F. Baxter, Texas
1979 Robert J. Jones, Oklahoma State
1980 Robert M. Jarvis, Northwestern
1981 Joel V. Anderson, Nebraska
1982 Joseph A. Homans, Washington State
1983 W. Jeffrey Neal, Kansas State
1984 David E. Conner, Purdue
1985 Dewayne E. Ullsperger, Nebraska
1986 Steven F. Carlson, Washington State
1987 Timothy M. Conlin, Louisiana State
1988 F. Howard Halderman, Purdue
1989 Robert G. Mooth, Indiana
1990 Cory M. Bowman, Franklin
1991 Addison J. Hilliard, Louisiana State
1992 Frank J. Ligas, Indiana
1993 Ryan M. Johnston, Indiana
1993 Gary J. Haag, Kansas State
1994 Joshua D. Herrenkohl, Miami of Ohio
1995 Nelson L. Jacobus, Purdue
1996 Michael C. Kovacs, Indiana of Pennsylvania
1997 Gregory M. Quebe, Purdue
1997 Anthony D. Prettyman, Kansas State
1998 Aaron P. Darcy, Indiana
1999 Ali M. Azim, Indiana
1999 Jarrett E. Jobe, Central Oklahoma
2000 Dominick F. Impastato III, Louisiana State
2001 Bradley S. Schmidt, Cornell
2002 Patrick W. McGovern, Indiana
2003 Ian E. Finn, California of Pennsylvania
2004 Matthew E. Foss, Indiana
2005 Christopher B. Bader, Illinois
2006 Joseph W. Butler, Penn State
2007 Shaun E. Clair, Penn State
2008 Jacob L. Sloan, Texas
2009 Brett A. Eakin, Kansas State
2010 Brandon J. Behrens, Iowa State
2011 Joshua J. Gannon, Oregon State
2011 Justin M.M. Kaplan, Carleton
2011 Michael S. Weber, Iowa State
2012 Nicholas M. Montanari, Washington State
2013 Sean C. Keenan, Nebraska
2014 Mitchell Oldenberg, Louisiana State
2014 Sabarinath Sankaranarayanan, Ohio State
2015 Joseph Webb, Iowa State
2016 Hunter Reid, Cornell
2017 Luke Staunton, Illinois
2018 Brandon Brodsky, Penn State
2019 Dillyn A. Mumme, Iowa State
2020 Clark M. Purdy, Illinois State
2021 Christian P. Taulli, Louisiana State
2022 Christian R. Simmons, Iowa State
Order of Pythagoras
Established in 1962, The Order of Pythagoras recognizes contributions to Acacia Fraternity by those "serving beyond the ordinary call of duty." Election to the Order of Pythagoras is by the International Council and may include alumni, undergraduates and, occasionally, non-Acacians.
Acacia Fraternity is proud to have recognized hundreds of distinguished individuals with the the Order of Pythagoras Award. Listed below are the most recent recipients of this honor (2020-2022):
Brent Bayer, Kansas State
Roger Brannan, Kansas State
Charles Busch, Kansas State
Paul Centanni, Indiana
Joe Esses, Nebraska
Manas Gajjela, Illinois
Kurt Guth, Kansas State
Curtis Hapgood, Kansas State
Nathaniel Harter, Iowa State
Darion James, Carleton
Steve Keedy, Nebraska
Grant LaPeyronnie, Louisiana State
Fred Loseke, Kansas State
Will Maher, Indiana
Michael Meyers, Kansas State
Andrea Petri, Ohio – Non-Member Advisor
Matt Prophit, Nebraska
Dr. Michael Senn, Kansas State
Daniel Thomas, Nebraska
James Uhlman, Nebraska
Blake Van Der Kamp, Iowa State
Jackson Wolfe, Colorado Joshua Satterfield, Purdue
Wade Wolfgang, California of Pennsylvania